Books Not Bombs 2024: Increasing Federal Investment in Public Education

Saturday, October 26th, 2pm EDT

Though historically public schools were locally financed through property and state taxes, the largest pool of public funds is federal income taxes paid by citizens. Given the critical importance of public education in maintaining and expanding a thriving government and economy, the nation needs to sharply increase Congressional education budgets. 

Throughout our nation’s history, access to a quality education, as well as the content of that education, has been a political battleground. These struggles continue in states throughout the nation. In many districts the outcome of the November 5th election will affect what is read and taught in the classroom. Republican leaders have proposed abolishing the federal Dept. of Education.

Though not generally recognized, the federal contribution to public education – and to housing, healthcare, public transit and other human needs – has been limited in order to finance the excessive $884 billion military budget. In addition, some federal funds have been used to promote privatization, rather than strengthening public schools. This Forum hosts leaders in public education assessing the ways forward.

2:02 pm: Welcome and Our Tasks: Jonathan King (Mass. Peace Action Education Fund)

2:05 pm: Panel 1: Public Education Funding Needs:

• Funding Priorities for K-12 schools – Max Page (Mass Teachers Assn);
• Unfunded Public School Mandates – Jessica Tang (AFTMA);
• Graduate Student Dependence on Biomedical and Science Budgets – Evan MacKay (Harvard Grads UAW);
• Pre-K and After School Needs – Khari Milner (Cambridge Public Schools)

2:50 pm: Panel 2: Sources of Federal Funds: Chair, Rep Carol Doherty:

• Education Funding in the Congressional Discretionary Budget – Bianca Singh (National Education Association);
• Imbalance of Civilian versus Military Budgets – Deborah Weinstein (Coalition for Human Needs);
• Release Tens of $Billions by Canceling the Sentinel ICBM Replacement Contracts- David Borris (Chicago Area Peace Action).
• Releasing Tax Dollars by Pulling Back from Gaza, Ukraine and other Foreign Wars – Merri Najimy (former MTA Pres).

3:30 pm: Break

3:40 pm: Panel 3 – Public Education and Local Politics Chair – Shailly Gupta Barnes (Poor People’s Campaign)

• Getting out the Public Education vote in November – Ricardo Rosa (MTA);
• Poor People’s Campaign to Mobilize Low Income and Low Frequency Voters – Rev. Savina Martin (MA-PPC);
• The Continuing Struggle for Equal Access to Quality Public Education – Edith Bazile (Citizens for Public Schools); 
• Right-Wing efforts to Suppress Truthful Curriculum Across the Nation- Doug Selwyn (Public Education Author and Journalist).

4:20 Panel 4: Battleground Elections – Chair, Cole Harrison (Mass. Peace Action Education Fund)

• Community and Family Campaigns – Alexandra Rathmann-Noonan (New York Performance Standards Consortium);
• The Mass High Stakes Referendum – Kathy Greeley (Cambridge Retired Educators United);
• Federal Battleground Elections – Larry Cohen (National Chair, Our Revolution);

4:45 pm: Closing Keynote- Promoting increased Public School funding in the U.S. House of Representatives – U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna invited.

Program Committee: Jonathan King (Chair), Quanta Dawn-Light, Rep. Carol Doherty,  Cole Harrison, Andrew King, Doug Selwyn, Susan Siegel.

Co-Sponsors: American Federation of Teachers Mass.; Cambridge Retired Educators United; Citizens for Public Schools, Massachusetts Teachers Association; Mass. Peace Action Education Fund; Mass Peace Action; National Our Revolution

Program Committee: Jonathan King (Chair), Quanta Dawn-Light, Rep. Carol Doherty, Cole Harrison, Andrew King, Doug Selwyn, Susan Siegel